COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.

Sooner or later, somebody was bound to make a long putt at the Broadmoor.

Maybe two, even.

David Toms did just that Sunday — and not too much afterward was hoisting the trophy for the U.S. Senior Open.

On a course where the greens perplexed the entire field for four straight days, Toms rolled in a 15-footer for a go-ahead birdie on No. 16, then coaxed in a downhill, 20-foot slider to save par after driving into a fairway bunker on the 530-yard, par-4 17th.

Those were two of the 26 putts he needed to get the win — best in the field over the final round. The three runners-up had more typical numbers: 29, 31 and 31

“This week, the putting was so difficult that I got into every single putt,” Toms said. “I didn’t get frustrated because I knew everyone was struggling.”

He shot even-par 70 and finished at 3-under 277 to win for the first time on either the senior or regular tours in more than seven years. Toms finished a shot ahead of Miguel Angel Jimenez, Tim Petrovic and Jerry Kelly in an all-day dog fight; five players, including Paul Goydos, were tied for the lead when Toms and Kelly teed off on the 14th hole.

All had their chances.

Petrovic (70) hit an approach to 4 feet on 18 to make birdie and get to 2 under. His approach shot that hit the 15th green, but rolled off and 30 yards down the hill, cost him a bogey that could’ve been the difference. Asked if he ever figured out the poa annua greens that consistently break away from the Will Rogers Shrine that towers above the course on Cheyenne Mountain, Petrovic answered, simply: “That would be ‘No.’”

Jimenez (69) made his first long putt of the week — a 16-footer — to also birdie No. 18. Hours earlier, though, he hit his tee shot above the hole on the par-3 eighth and needed four to get down for double-bogey.

“Normally, I can read the lines, but I don’t know what happened this week,” Jimenez said. “I didn’t hole anything all week.”

Kelly, who led after each of the first three rounds, struggled with the wind and his distance control all week but stayed in it until the last shot. He shot 72 and didn’t make a putt of over 12 feet over the entire tournament.

“It always comes down to those putts,” Kelly said. “David, he makes birdie on 16 and that par putt on 17, I had a front-row seat. I rose my putter up (to celebrate with Toms). That was just a pure putt and that’s — he’s a major champion.

The way Toms locked up this major looked a lot like the way he did it for his other one — the 2001 PGA Championship. It was at Atlanta Athletic Club where his smart layup and par save on the 72nd hole helped him preserve a one-shot win over Phil Mickelson.

This time, Toms found trouble on the 71st hole.